1 00:00:12,96 --> 00:00:18,92 I'm so delighted to have Tom Hartman with us today it's. You know Us Magazine 2 00:00:18,93 --> 00:00:19,18 spends 3 00:00:19,19 --> 00:00:22,55 a lot of time trying to figure out what are the solutions what are the ways forward 4 00:00:22,56 --> 00:00:27,67 where there are opportunities for big change and so they have Thom Hartmann with us 5 00:00:27,68 --> 00:00:32,42 today to talk about one of the forty is questions that we face is just such 6 00:00:32,43 --> 00:00:37,81 a privilege because we're in this room in the situation where money and politics is 7 00:00:37,82 --> 00:00:44,10 keeping us from resolving the problem of money and politics. I mean you take the 8 00:00:44,14 --> 00:00:49,14 take the DMO labeling issue that we had last year five twenty two you know we had 9 00:00:49,15 --> 00:00:54,62 three to one support for that in Washington state and then record amounts of money 10 00:00:54,63 --> 00:01:01,57 twenty two million dollars flooded the state and the initiative lost and I looked 11 00:01:01,58 --> 00:01:05,78 up the filings on that all but twelve thousand dollars came from out of state much 12 00:01:05,79 --> 00:01:10,99 of it from large corporations and then we've got this as ten you mentioned we have 13 00:01:11,00 --> 00:01:15,93 this wonderful minimum wage now in Seattle that I just read that to my mind is 14 00:01:15,94 --> 00:01:20,48 offering two for a cool two point two million dollars He's offering to run 15 00:01:20,49 --> 00:01:25,75 a campaign which he's convinced will overturn it statewide and then 16 00:01:27,88 --> 00:01:30,64 this year. There is 17 00:01:30,65 --> 00:01:35,28 a campaign to ten you mentioned to see what we can do about money and politics and 18 00:01:35,29 --> 00:01:35,80 to urge 19 00:01:35,81 --> 00:01:40,72 a constitutional amendment on this case we didn't have the money to get that campaign 20 00:01:40,76 --> 00:01:44,96 up to the kind of speed it needed within the short period of time to gather the 21 00:01:44,97 --> 00:01:46,15 signatures so we have 22 00:01:46,16 --> 00:01:51,85 a real problem with money in politics preventing us from getting action on money 23 00:01:51,86 --> 00:01:57,98 and politics and other issues that are dominated by corporations so few people that 24 00:01:57,99 --> 00:02:04,76 I know of speak so eloquently and think so deeply about this as Thom Hartmann and I 25 00:02:04,77 --> 00:02:05,89 wanted to start off with the 26 00:02:05,90 --> 00:02:13,51 thank 27 00:02:13,52 --> 00:02:20,38 you all in the crash of two thousand and sixteen you talk about the cyclical nature 28 00:02:20,42 --> 00:02:25,63 of our all of Dr the problem that we have been here before where other times in 29 00:02:25,64 --> 00:02:31,13 U.S. History Americans have confronted this problem of a gilded age or 30 00:02:31,14 --> 00:02:35,23 a group of people who seem to be able to accumulate all the wealth and power to 31 00:02:35,24 --> 00:02:40,25 themselves and then run everything and yet we came through the US So can you talk 32 00:02:40,26 --> 00:02:45,19 about this this problem and how we how we the people have resolved it and in other 33 00:02:45,20 --> 00:02:51,74 periods of history yeah this is this has been the. You know once one of the 34 00:02:51,75 --> 00:02:57,31 principal battles throughout the history of the United States and and speaking of 35 00:02:57,32 --> 00:03:03,26 the history the United States can you throw me that book. It's just I just want to 36 00:03:03,27 --> 00:03:05,29 say dances and wrote 37 00:03:05,30 --> 00:03:10,85 a brilliant book about the early history of the United States and I helped edit it 38 00:03:10,94 --> 00:03:11,37 and wrote 39 00:03:11,38 --> 00:03:16,04 a forward and afterward for it and Dan will be here with me whereas Dan right here 40 00:03:16,28 --> 00:03:20,42 Dan will be signing books with me downstairs when we're done we got 41 00:03:20,43 --> 00:03:25,50 a bunch of them this is the revolution of eighteen hundred and it's and. And it 42 00:03:25,51 --> 00:03:32,40 talks about how. If the founders were alive today they would call the Republican 43 00:03:32,41 --> 00:03:39,37 opposition traitors and trees and on ambiguously so and 44 00:03:39,38 --> 00:03:40,53 one of the things that they were the most 45 00:03:40,54 --> 00:03:46,96 a piss suspicious of was great wealth and so we've had this dynamic tension this 46 00:03:46,97 --> 00:03:50,12 battle that's been going on back and forth for 47 00:03:50,13 --> 00:03:54,80 a long long time and. There's 48 00:03:54,81 --> 00:04:00,74 a quote attributable to it's usually attributed to Arnold Toynbee although it may 49 00:04:00,75 --> 00:04:07,20 be apocryphal that when the last man who remembers and this is how they talked you 50 00:04:07,21 --> 00:04:11,62 know hundred years ago when the last man who remembers the horrors of the last 51 00:04:11,63 --> 00:04:16,80 great war die. Then the next great war becomes inevitable 52 00:04:18,69 --> 00:04:24,28 and. It takes about eighty years for the last guy who remembers the horrors of the 53 00:04:24,29 --> 00:04:31,21 last great war to die off and. This is true 54 00:04:31,22 --> 00:04:36,34 I would submit to you not just for wars but also for really really really really 55 00:04:36,35 --> 00:04:42,05 really really stupid economic mistakes. Which we are repeating and they tend to 56 00:04:42,06 --> 00:04:47,56 follow one another so eighty years ago we had the Great Depression followed by 57 00:04:47,60 --> 00:04:51,03 World War two eighty years before that you had the great crash of eight hundred 58 00:04:51,04 --> 00:04:54,68 fifty six followed by the Civil War eighty years before that you had the great 59 00:04:54,69 --> 00:04:59,06 crash of sixteen sixty nine hundred seventeen hundred which let all of you know 60 00:04:59,07 --> 00:05:02,48 it's of the Stamp Act the largest corporate tax break in the history of the world 61 00:05:02,49 --> 00:05:06,23 for the British East India Company which provoked the Boston Tea Party and led 62 00:05:06,24 --> 00:05:10,39 directly to the American Revolution and you can go back for several cycles every 63 00:05:10,40 --> 00:05:15,56 eighty years before that all the way back to Europe so what all of we the people 64 00:05:15,57 --> 00:05:20,30 had in taking on those all of our teeth at various times in history but what 65 00:05:20,31 --> 00:05:21,44 happens is every time there's 66 00:05:21,45 --> 00:05:25,52 a crash people wake up and they realize that they've been screwed they realize that 67 00:05:25,53 --> 00:05:30,77 these guys they got in on the one nine hundred twenty election Warren Harding ran 68 00:05:30,78 --> 00:05:31,02 on 69 00:05:31,46 --> 00:05:38,39 a platform of. His his quote was less government in business more 70 00:05:38,40 --> 00:05:43,99 business in government in other words deregulate and privatized and taxed those are 71 00:05:44,00 --> 00:05:47,30 the three things he ran on in one hundred twenty he was like the one nine hundred 72 00:05:47,31 --> 00:05:50,94 twenty one he dropped the top marginal tax rate from ninety one percent down to 73 00:05:50,95 --> 00:05:55,81 twenty five percent he deregulated businesses he deregulated the banks he 74 00:05:55,82 --> 00:05:58,32 deregulated the investment brokerage industry he ended 75 00:05:58,33 --> 00:06:03,42 a lot of the stuff that Teddy Roosevelt had done and others have to factor that 76 00:06:03,43 --> 00:06:08,24 a Republican a lot of progressive and predictable result was 77 00:06:08,25 --> 00:06:10,02 a nine year boom right 78 00:06:10,03 --> 00:06:14,71 a bubble followed by the crash and I've had twenty nine we are living through that 79 00:06:14,75 --> 00:06:18,63 right now and the point that I was about to make with this or where I was going 80 00:06:18,64 --> 00:06:23,11 with this. Was in one thousand nine hundred nine Phil Gramm got up on the floor of 81 00:06:23,12 --> 00:06:27,46 the Sun and said I got this Bill Graham wage Bliley is going to deregulate the 82 00:06:27,47 --> 00:06:32,39 banks we're going to do away with the SIEGEL Stiegel that's what this wall between 83 00:06:32,40 --> 00:06:37,58 investment banks and you know between gambling banks and checkbook and the reason 84 00:06:37,59 --> 00:06:41,52 we can get away with it is the reason we can do it with it is because we haven't 85 00:06:41,53 --> 00:06:41,65 had 86 00:06:41,66 --> 00:06:47,12 a banking panics and saying thirty five now prior to nine hundred thirty five from 87 00:06:47,13 --> 00:06:51,07 the George Washington illustration if you are going to ration we never went more 88 00:06:51,08 --> 00:06:55,47 than fourteen years there was one period of fifteen years so we never went more 89 00:06:55,48 --> 00:06:57,18 than fifteen years without 90 00:06:57,22 --> 00:07:02,40 a major national bank having entire history the United States until Glass Steagall 91 00:07:03,67 --> 00:07:08,44 Now if Phil Gramm had tried to say that in the one nine hundred fifty five 92 00:07:08,45 --> 00:07:14,09 legislature when everybody in that body in the House and Senate remembered the 93 00:07:14,10 --> 00:07:19,06 horrors of all the banks closing on the first week of March in one nine hundred 94 00:07:19,07 --> 00:07:24,56 thirty three he would have been laughed out of the chamber. Because everybody who 95 00:07:24,60 --> 00:07:29,50 remembered the horrors of deregulated banks was still alive but in one thousand 96 00:07:29,51 --> 00:07:32,94 nine hundred nine when Phil Gramm pitched that and Bill Clinton signed 97 00:07:32,95 --> 00:07:35,99 a Bill Plante wasn't alive back then most of the people in Congress weren't alive 98 00:07:35,100 --> 00:07:42,10 back then probably only one was Robert Byrd and. I frankly don't know his position 99 00:07:42,11 --> 00:07:48,86 on this but I guess he opposed it but. As he did so many things but so we just we 100 00:07:48,87 --> 00:07:52,94 keep making these mistakes over and over again and that's that's why I believe that 101 00:07:52,95 --> 00:07:56,12 it's going to take another crash for us to wake up so in 102 00:07:56,13 --> 00:07:57,56 a sense what you're talking about is 103 00:07:57,57 --> 00:08:02,76 a battle for the story of this country because we have on the one hand people who 104 00:08:02,77 --> 00:08:06,89 say well the founders had these various characteristics they were Christians they 105 00:08:06,90 --> 00:08:12,45 were job creators they were you know so we have one set of stories that the talks 106 00:08:12,46 --> 00:08:17,39 about that have another set of stories that talks about you know people's movements 107 00:08:17,40 --> 00:08:20,00 basically we the people of the United States in forming 108 00:08:20,01 --> 00:08:22,61 a more perfect union do you see us as sort of in 109 00:08:22,62 --> 00:08:28,38 a battle over the story for this country but we're not just sort of absolutely I 110 00:08:28,42 --> 00:08:30,50 walked into a think tank in Washington D.C. 111 00:08:30,51 --> 00:08:33,30 About four years ago and they were taking 112 00:08:33,43 --> 00:08:35,47 a tour and we walked through the basement and there was 113 00:08:35,48 --> 00:08:39,36 a room with about thirty cubicles and in every cubicle there was 114 00:08:39,37 --> 00:08:40,59 a person editing with 115 00:08:40,60 --> 00:08:46,04 a pedia pages. This is funded by one of the big billionaire families so they're 116 00:08:46,05 --> 00:08:47,14 editing like a P.D.F. 117 00:08:47,15 --> 00:08:48,55 They're editing what if I was 118 00:08:48,56 --> 00:08:52,54 a history or just yeah they're changing our history yesterday I was looking at the 119 00:08:52,55 --> 00:08:54,85 Reaganomics entry and like a P.D.F. 120 00:08:54,86 --> 00:08:57,57 It said John Kennedy supported Reaganomics which is 121 00:08:57,58 --> 00:09:03,42 a flat out lie and it's an absolute lie right and it's just it's like you can't 122 00:09:04,38 --> 00:09:05,54 whip it is becoming such 123 00:09:05,55 --> 00:09:10,11 a right wing thing but it's very very very subtle in the tragedy is that every high 124 00:09:10,12 --> 00:09:14,19 school kid in America is depending we could be here for the term papers and these 125 00:09:14,20 --> 00:09:17,59 guys are literally reinventing history one of the things that I love so much about 126 00:09:17,60 --> 00:09:23,84 yes magazine is that yes magazine challenges and why it's so important you're here 127 00:09:23,85 --> 00:09:28,96 and yes magazine is here is that yes magazine challenges the story it's the 128 00:09:28,97 --> 00:09:33,20 prevailing stories you'll find are there's not an issue that goes by at least that 129 00:09:33,21 --> 00:09:38,52 I've read and I don't claim to read every issue but I close and there's not an 130 00:09:38,53 --> 00:09:41,91 issue that goes by where there's not a frame or 131 00:09:41,92 --> 00:09:46,53 a story that's presented that like this is the dysfunctional frame that's out there 132 00:09:46,54 --> 00:09:49,74 this is what the right wingers are up to this is and by the way here's the 133 00:09:49,75 --> 00:09:54,14 functional frame for it you know David writes about this is the last book of the 134 00:09:54,40 --> 00:10:00,82 court at some length it's the battle for story and that's where 135 00:10:01,12 --> 00:10:04,24 the conservatives are so good at their communication of course they have 136 00:10:04,25 --> 00:10:09,32 a mind boggling amount of money an incredible brain trust and liberals just kind of 137 00:10:09,33 --> 00:10:16,23 think oh hey truth will prevail All right. But but yeah it's 138 00:10:16,27 --> 00:10:19,91 it's all about those stories and the reason why is because we're story machines. 139 00:10:21,06 --> 00:10:25,86 The way that we remember things is by stories if you attach a lesson to 140 00:10:25,87 --> 00:10:30,94 a story or people remember at their entire lives don't yell Wolf three times right 141 00:10:30,94 --> 00:10:35,07 . Instantly you know because there was 142 00:10:35,08 --> 00:10:41,11 a story but without the story it's just data and so if you could if you want 143 00:10:41,12 --> 00:10:43,59 somebody to remember a fact if you can wrap it in 144 00:10:43,60 --> 00:10:46,41 a story even if it's an anecdote if you can write a rap of 145 00:10:46,42 --> 00:10:48,29 a story they were remember there for 146 00:10:48,30 --> 00:10:52,60 a long long time. And that's something we have to get 147 00:10:52,61 --> 00:10:57,29 a lot better so are there places where you see some opportunities right now where 148 00:10:57,30 --> 00:11:02,86 there's a where there's a contention there's a battle over a story. Whether it's 149 00:11:02,87 --> 00:11:04,02 a historic one or 150 00:11:04,03 --> 00:11:08,48 a current one where we have some opportunities to really move things forward yeah 151 00:11:08,97 --> 00:11:09,16 there's 152 00:11:09,17 --> 00:11:12,92 a couple of stories the right wingers are aggressively trying to right rewrite 153 00:11:12,93 --> 00:11:17,67 right now one is they're trying to suggest that America's founders were Christian 154 00:11:17,68 --> 00:11:18,05 and this is 155 00:11:18,06 --> 00:11:21,97 a Christian nation they probably all heard this over and over and over again and 156 00:11:21,98 --> 00:11:25,85 you've got people like David Barton who literally makes up historical quotes he 157 00:11:25,86 --> 00:11:30,68 puts words in Jefferson's mouth and Glenn Beck has him on his show and now he's you 158 00:11:30,69 --> 00:11:36,57 know he's the Fox News historian the guys you guys it's just I mean it's it's 159 00:11:36,58 --> 00:11:39,07 really tragic The guy's a fraud but 160 00:11:39,08 --> 00:11:44,35 a lot of home school books now quote David Barton and the there's a just 161 00:11:44,36 --> 00:11:47,78 a whole cult around him so that's one of the big stories another one of the big 162 00:11:47,79 --> 00:11:51,94 stories is the idea that there's this magical thing called the free market there is 163 00:11:51,95 --> 00:11:54,12 no such thing as a free market saying that there's 164 00:11:54,13 --> 00:12:02,55 a free market is like saying thank 165 00:12:02,56 --> 00:12:04,04 you there's a free market is like saying there's 166 00:12:04,05 --> 00:12:05,82 a free football game oh yeah we're going to 167 00:12:05,83 --> 00:12:08,39 a football game we're not going to have yard lines we're not going to have 168 00:12:08,40 --> 00:12:12,03 goalposts we're not going to have rules we're not going to have referees we're just 169 00:12:12,04 --> 00:12:12,29 go have 170 00:12:12,30 --> 00:12:17,23 a football game hey it's free right now that's not how it works governments create 171 00:12:17,24 --> 00:12:21,23 the rules they define what's fraud and what isn't what's legal and what's not be 172 00:12:21,34 --> 00:12:25,05 they define who can be incorporated and who can't they have what they pay for the 173 00:12:25,06 --> 00:12:29,64 courts to enforce the rules they pay for jails to hold the malefactors they I mean 174 00:12:29,87 --> 00:12:32,81 every you will you you it's not they provide 175 00:12:32,82 --> 00:12:36,26 a stable currency it's not possible to have a marketplace without 176 00:12:36,27 --> 00:12:40,89 a government in fact governments create marketplaces but somehow we've got his 177 00:12:40,90 --> 00:12:45,82 bizarre idea between Iran Milton Friedman and Frederick von misses we've gotten 178 00:12:45,83 --> 00:12:51,96 this bizarre idea that if only everybody in any free market free of all government 179 00:12:51,97 --> 00:12:56,86 interference was just able to absolutely interact in the free market and the 180 00:12:56,93 --> 00:13:00,23 trillions of transactions made in the market every single day are far more 181 00:13:00,24 --> 00:13:04,37 intelligent than any government bureaucrat and if all of us just pursued our own 182 00:13:04,38 --> 00:13:08,70 selfish desires and screw everybody else the net net of that would be the best 183 00:13:08,71 --> 00:13:14,36 thing for society Well you know first of all I people say this and I say Please 184 00:13:14,37 --> 00:13:20,13 name one country where that's ever worked. Not There's no such thing as 185 00:13:20,14 --> 00:13:21,94 a libertarian success story it's 186 00:13:21,95 --> 00:13:25,81 a lie number two then I say Well actually I can think of 187 00:13:25,82 --> 00:13:30,20 a country where that works you know where where where there are least where exists 188 00:13:30,36 --> 00:13:34,74 where all the government does is run the court system the police and the military 189 00:13:34,75 --> 00:13:38,57 that's all they do which is what libertarians want our country to do their country 190 00:13:38,58 --> 00:13:43,88 is Somalia if you really want to move to Somalia good luck have fun. 191 00:13:46,13 --> 00:13:50,18 There's a bunch of other stories too those those are just examples but yeah it's 192 00:13:50,22 --> 00:13:51,43 a big story is 193 00:13:51,44 --> 00:13:55,61 a story about the role of women our societies are played out large now for example 194 00:13:55,62 --> 00:14:01,76 another. So let me ask you about one that just happened this week which is the 195 00:14:01,80 --> 00:14:04,02 Senate debate on 196 00:14:04,03 --> 00:14:09,53 a constitutional amendment right to take to allow states and the federal government 197 00:14:09,54 --> 00:14:13,85 to regulate money in politics. You know it's interesting because that seems like 198 00:14:13,86 --> 00:14:17,42 a pretty big deal to me that the Senate spent several days debating on that and 199 00:14:17,43 --> 00:14:20,66 actually WANT TO majority of the votes not enough to pass it but still 200 00:14:20,67 --> 00:14:24,92 a majority of the Senate voted in favor of it seems like pretty big news and yet I 201 00:14:24,93 --> 00:14:28,96 heard very little about the mainstream news even on N.P.R. 202 00:14:29,21 --> 00:14:32,37 Right so I'm just wondering where it where do you see that fitting in we have you 203 00:14:32,38 --> 00:14:34,69 know we have this popular movement Frank Wharton wrote 204 00:14:34,70 --> 00:14:36,14 a really excellent article it's on the U.S. 205 00:14:36,15 --> 00:14:40,35 Website right now you know just popular movement that helped make this thing happen 206 00:14:41,12 --> 00:14:45,39 and the Senate took notice and they actually took a vote and then in 207 00:14:45,40 --> 00:14:51,64 a few short years from Citizens United we actually see Congress almost acting right 208 00:14:51,64 --> 00:14:58,58 . And and the good news is that Article five of the Constitution allows it to 209 00:14:58,59 --> 00:15:02,64 be done without Congress if you can get three quarters of the states to pass it to 210 00:15:02,65 --> 00:15:06,38 their state legislatures then Congress is forced to take it up right now John 211 00:15:06,39 --> 00:15:07,47 Boehner is refusing to have 212 00:15:07,48 --> 00:15:11,15 a discussion and so you know just like he's refusing to have 213 00:15:11,16 --> 00:15:14,48 a discussion about extending long term unemployment benefits he's refusing having 214 00:15:14,49 --> 00:15:14,64 just 215 00:15:14,65 --> 00:15:18,79 a discussion about become president of Gratian bill the Senate passed and many other 216 00:15:18,80 --> 00:15:25,12 things but here's. You know I think the really important thing about this. 217 00:15:27,33 --> 00:15:32,16 Eighteen thirty for the fall of eighteen thirty four this is you know the 218 00:15:32,17 --> 00:15:36,66 Republicans really really young that was the first time that Martin Van Buren or 219 00:15:36,71 --> 00:15:42,12 exceed the number that John Quincy Adams after he was president he went back to 220 00:15:42,13 --> 00:15:43,63 Congress to serve as 221 00:15:43,64 --> 00:15:49,76 a legislator for the sole purpose of fighting slavery that was his that was is is 222 00:15:49,80 --> 00:15:54,79 is one thing. And that was when the first legislation was passed and slavery in the 223 00:15:54,80 --> 00:15:58,85 United States right we didn't amend the Constitution actually do that it's still 224 00:15:58,86 --> 00:16:02,80 seven hundred seventy What's that one and four and six or something like that 225 00:16:02,81 --> 00:16:06,77 thirteen fourteen fifteen amendments and we fought 226 00:16:06,78 --> 00:16:08,42 a bloody civil war over it I don't expect 227 00:16:08,43 --> 00:16:13,13 a civil war over this but the fact of matter is that sometimes it takes time when 228 00:16:13,14 --> 00:16:18,81 the time comes and it happens the fact that it made it all the way to the Senate is 229 00:16:18,85 --> 00:16:20,69 to paraphrase Joe Biden a B.F.D. 230 00:16:20,86 --> 00:16:25,52 It's it's a it's a big deal and. It's 231 00:16:25,53 --> 00:16:32,11 a story that's just starting and so you know I I think people are waking up and 232 00:16:32,25 --> 00:16:38,57 and and it's going to grow so it's I don't despair are that it only got as far as 233 00:16:38,58 --> 00:16:44,91 it did I'm astounded it got that far. The reason I debate right wingers is 234 00:16:44,95 --> 00:16:50,84 multifaceted There's a radio reason why I do it there's 235 00:16:50,88 --> 00:16:53,19 a personal reason why I do it and there's 236 00:16:53,20 --> 00:16:58,55 a political reason why I do it the radio reason why I do it is really easily 237 00:16:58,56 --> 00:17:03,63 explained and that is just reflecting my own personal preference but I suspect 238 00:17:03,64 --> 00:17:09,08 a lot of people feel the same way I find that when two people are talking about 239 00:17:09,09 --> 00:17:10,16 something and they're just 240 00:17:10,17 --> 00:17:14,41 a green about it you know yeah I agree with you know I agree with you more no I 241 00:17:14,42 --> 00:17:20,42 agree with you more I find that deadly boring right I just find it deadly boring 242 00:17:20,95 --> 00:17:27,67 and and nine times out of ten in interview radio I know that the guy doing the 243 00:17:27,68 --> 00:17:32,46 interview knows the topic as well as the person he's interviewing and I would much 244 00:17:32,47 --> 00:17:34,78 rather hear one person with passion do 245 00:17:34,79 --> 00:17:40,33 a rant about something which I also do then then hear two people have 246 00:17:40,34 --> 00:17:46,31 a reasonable discussion about whether this is you know put me to sleep so first of 247 00:17:46,32 --> 00:17:52,46 all I am not unaware of the fact that radio is show business and. That if I want to 248 00:17:52,47 --> 00:17:57,49 attract an audience that I have to provide something that's entertaining So number 249 00:17:57,50 --> 00:18:02,38 one it's the media the medium or wires it in my opinion and I wish more people on 250 00:18:02,39 --> 00:18:05,92 my side did it Fox News has got this down to an artform 251 00:18:06,60 --> 00:18:10,41 a lot of right wing talk radio does and one of the ways the right wing talk radio 252 00:18:10,42 --> 00:18:15,03 will do it is they filter like Limbaugh is famous for this you filter for the 253 00:18:15,08 --> 00:18:18,05 idiots right try you know there's 254 00:18:18,06 --> 00:18:20,79 a guy on line six sounds like he's drunk and he's 255 00:18:20,80 --> 00:18:26,56 a liberal great party Mon you know. I don't do that I try to actually have 256 00:18:26,57 --> 00:18:31,92 meaningful intelligent conversations but so number one number two the personal 257 00:18:32,66 --> 00:18:38,96 actually the political reason I also believe that people make. 258 00:18:39,43 --> 00:18:43,17 Well informed decisions when they have all the information when they've heard all 259 00:18:43,18 --> 00:18:49,14 the arguments and when they have heard the bumper sticker arguments of the right 260 00:18:49,15 --> 00:18:53,98 wing like we can't raise it we can't label G.M.O. 261 00:18:53,99 --> 00:18:55,23 Those because it's going to cost 262 00:18:55,24 --> 00:18:58,57 a fortune right it's going to raise your food prices it's 263 00:18:58,58 --> 00:19:01,76 a bumper sticker and people go oh yeah well I guess that makes sense it's going to 264 00:19:01,77 --> 00:19:06,64 cause and but I get that guy on the show and I say well why is it that we you know 265 00:19:06,65 --> 00:19:10,60 we change the labels for sodium we change the labels for fat which if we've changed 266 00:19:10,61 --> 00:19:14,40 our label sixteen times in the last twenty two years and not any of them lead to 267 00:19:14,41 --> 00:19:18,36 the destruction of the fast food industry or any food industry why is it all of 268 00:19:18,37 --> 00:19:24,97 a sudden that this one's going to you know and. And immediately everybody is 269 00:19:24,98 --> 00:19:31,68 listening goes oh there goes well you know so I think it's it's 270 00:19:31,72 --> 00:19:35,82 a you know nobody else is talking back to these people somebody has got to talk 271 00:19:35,83 --> 00:19:40,09 back to them I think the people listen to political radio for two reasons one to 272 00:19:40,10 --> 00:19:43,94 validate their worldview that is to say oh I'm not the only one thinking like this 273 00:19:43,95 --> 00:19:48,95 I'm not crazy and number two to get ammunition to win the water cooler work as we 274 00:19:48,96 --> 00:19:52,62 all have right wingers in our life we all have them we work with them there are 275 00:19:52,63 --> 00:19:58,34 crazy uncle who comes to Thanksgiving dinner whatever it may be we know that. In my 276 00:19:58,35 --> 00:20:04,35 case it was my father who I loved it dearly and I respected tremendously who who 277 00:20:04,39 --> 00:20:10,08 when he was dying as as I put my hand on his shoulder as he literally took his last 278 00:20:10,09 --> 00:20:13,86 breath I looked across at the wall and there is two favorite pictures me shaking 279 00:20:13,87 --> 00:20:17,72 hands of Pope John Paul the second and George W. Bush on the U.S.S. 280 00:20:17,73 --> 00:20:23,77 Abraham Lincoln declaring mission and pa's mission accomplished. But he was my 281 00:20:23,78 --> 00:20:30,48 father and and so which leads me to the So So I think that politically it's the 282 00:20:30,49 --> 00:20:34,18 best thing to do I think it's good for us to have these dialogues I think that when 283 00:20:34,19 --> 00:20:38,35 Jon Stewart said the people on CROSSFIRE you're hurting America there was some 284 00:20:38,36 --> 00:20:43,80 truth to that. Because all they did was dueling bumper stickers and I refused to do 285 00:20:43,81 --> 00:20:47,09 dueling bumper stickers I'm going to have meaningful conversations with. 286 00:20:50,95 --> 00:20:56,32 Thank you. The personal reason is because I grew up debating my father you know I 287 00:20:56,33 --> 00:21:00,77 mean I was on his side until I was thirteen fourteen years old when I was thirteen 288 00:21:00,78 --> 00:21:03,39 it was one thousand nine hundred sixty four I went door to door for Barry Goldwater 289 00:21:03,40 --> 00:21:05,75 with my dad in our neighborhood he was 290 00:21:05,76 --> 00:21:10,90 a block chairman and so I learned about politics and I read John Stormers none dare 291 00:21:10,91 --> 00:21:14,94 call it treason I knew there were State Department communists hiding under my bed 292 00:21:15,36 --> 00:21:17,53 and and you know he took me to 293 00:21:17,54 --> 00:21:21,14 a John Birch Society he thought they were too radical but he wanted me to know who 294 00:21:21,15 --> 00:21:26,97 they were. I knew guys in the Michigan Militia they were really radical I still 295 00:21:26,98 --> 00:21:32,03 know some of them and and and then you know two years later I was out in the 296 00:21:32,04 --> 00:21:36,61 streets of East Lansing Michigan getting tear gassed in an anti-war protest and I 297 00:21:36,62 --> 00:21:37,30 went home and I had 298 00:21:37,31 --> 00:21:41,80 a fight with my dad about the Vietnam War three weeks after my sixteenth birthday 299 00:21:41,81 --> 00:21:48,25 threw me out of the house. And I turned it up never going back I was always very 300 00:21:48,26 --> 00:21:52,52 good friends with my father though I mean we feel that very quickly but but I was 301 00:21:52,53 --> 00:21:57,95 ready to move on anyway but the point is that for me it's it's something that I've 302 00:21:57,96 --> 00:22:04,85 always it almost I like it you know it reminds me of the time I 303 00:22:04,86 --> 00:22:10,13 spent with my dad it it's I'm comfortable doing and I know some people are very 304 00:22:10,14 --> 00:22:10,67 conflict 305 00:22:10,68 --> 00:22:15,67 a verse they hate fighting with people they don't you know they're. I'm not and so 306 00:22:15,68 --> 00:22:16,38 I would also do 307 00:22:16,39 --> 00:22:20,19 a very respectfully After all that's because I always try to see my father in the 308 00:22:20,20 --> 00:22:24,49 person who made it very interesting I honest to God because we're all just people 309 00:22:24,50 --> 00:22:30,96 here. Thank you. So let me ask you about something that shouldn't be 310 00:22:30,97 --> 00:22:36,39 a partisan question and that's the future of our earth as affected by climate 311 00:22:36,40 --> 00:22:40,27 change as I'm sure you're well aware next week is 312 00:22:40,28 --> 00:22:45,06 a big set of climate events in New York but they're also happening here in the 313 00:22:45,07 --> 00:22:50,24 Seattle area including at the border the Peace Arch as well as in Seattle itself. 314 00:22:51,54 --> 00:22:54,40 You know climate is not something we should be making 315 00:22:54,41 --> 00:22:57,65 a political football it has to do with whether what kind of future our children 316 00:22:57,66 --> 00:23:01,17 have what kind of future we have and I'm just wondering if you can say something 317 00:23:01,18 --> 00:23:06,43 about the best prospects you think we have given the political poison that's 318 00:23:06,44 --> 00:23:10,42 developed around this issue what are the best prospects we have for moving this 319 00:23:10,43 --> 00:23:12,90 issue forward Well first of all there's 320 00:23:12,91 --> 00:23:17,06 a very very large frame that we need to put around this every opportunity we get 321 00:23:17,32 --> 00:23:22,07 and that this is just another example of the corruption of the political process by 322 00:23:22,08 --> 00:23:27,94 money you've got you've got five oil companies five actually got seven or eight 323 00:23:27,95 --> 00:23:30,28 fossil fuel companies in the United States and probably 324 00:23:30,29 --> 00:23:36,62 a dozen or so worldwide that are sitting. On It depends on whose estimates you're 325 00:23:36,63 --> 00:23:41,70 looking and listening to somewhere between ten and and seventy five trillion 326 00:23:41,71 --> 00:23:45,92 dollars worth the carbon in the ground and they want to pull that out burn it put 327 00:23:45,93 --> 00:23:51,31 it in the air and take the money and run and so when you're dealing with trillions 328 00:23:51,32 --> 00:23:56,71 of dollars hundreds thousands of billions of dollars and they find it very 329 00:23:56,72 --> 00:23:58,08 profitable you invest 330 00:23:58,09 --> 00:24:02,15 a few hundred million dollars in politicians and you make billions of dollars in 331 00:24:02,16 --> 00:24:08,79 profits I mean this is of all the examples of the corruption of politics by money 332 00:24:08,84 --> 00:24:14,72 this is the best and we need to constantly bring it back to that focus. Number one 333 00:24:14,78 --> 00:24:20,18 number two. There's a broad scientific consensus that two degrees Celsius is 334 00:24:20,19 --> 00:24:25,48 a danger point a serious danger point and that's somewhere between one and 335 00:24:25,49 --> 00:24:29,30 a half and four degrees Celsius there are tipping points that would be reached 336 00:24:29,65 --> 00:24:36,32 where we could spiral into an uncontrollable positive feedback loop particularly 337 00:24:36,33 --> 00:24:42,46 the ones that involve methane. That could basically sterilize our planet that could 338 00:24:42,47 --> 00:24:46,90 lead to the sixth great extinction not unlike the Permian mass extinction and we 339 00:24:46,91 --> 00:24:53,82 could see the loss of not just frogs about loss of people. I am somewhat 340 00:24:53,83 --> 00:24:57,74 optimistic that the human race will survive because we're the most adaptable of all 341 00:24:57,75 --> 00:25:02,71 species on Earth there are humans in every bio system you know whether it's the 342 00:25:02,72 --> 00:25:07,61 Arctic or the tropics wherever wherever you can find you know wherever there's 343 00:25:07,65 --> 00:25:13,64 a place there are humans and that's not true of any other species so we are 344 00:25:14,18 --> 00:25:20,64 super adaptable so when the when the crap hits the fan worry as 345 00:25:20,65 --> 00:25:25,06 a species I believe will probably make it through but it might only be I mean you 346 00:25:25,07 --> 00:25:25,62 know there's 347 00:25:25,63 --> 00:25:29,48 a fair amount of evidence that sixty five thousand years ago and when Pinatubo 348 00:25:29,84 --> 00:25:34,57 erupted that as few as twenty thousand human beings survived that I mean that you 349 00:25:34,58 --> 00:25:40,03 get these bottleneck about so I mean you know it could be so you know it's 350 00:25:40,04 --> 00:25:46,91 a very very very dangerous. And I would say that we've done two videos on 351 00:25:46,92 --> 00:25:49,74 this the first is at last hours dot org The second is 352 00:25:49,75 --> 00:25:55,92 a green world rising dot org Leo Dicaprio narrated the site is here what is your 353 00:25:55,93 --> 00:26:01,07 biggest source of hope that we can in fact take this on I think I agree with 354 00:26:01,08 --> 00:26:07,10 Michael Mann that we have ten to twenty years to stop this thing and and my biggest 355 00:26:07,11 --> 00:26:11,23 hope is that I've seen activism all over the world people all over the world are 356 00:26:11,24 --> 00:26:17,49 waking up and you combine that with the incredible technological advances solar 357 00:26:17,50 --> 00:26:22,04 power wind power are now cheaper than any fossil fuel when you consider the extra 358 00:26:22,05 --> 00:26:26,77 analogies associate with fossil fuels and China just last week announced that 359 00:26:26,78 --> 00:26:31,91 they've gone from seven provinces having cap and trade programs to after the first 360 00:26:31,92 --> 00:26:34,63 of the year the entire country is going to have to cap and trade program is going 361 00:26:34,64 --> 00:26:39,78 to the largest in the world so I think people are getting serious about it Great 362 00:26:39,87 --> 00:26:44,58 well thank you for that note of hope I really appreciate that thank you so much Tom 363 00:26:44,59 --> 00:26:50,72 and Sarah for having this. Opportunity to hear you in person it's delightful 364 00:26:51,62 --> 00:26:56,83 thank you also Tom particularly for your terrific support of I thirty twenty nine 365 00:26:56,84 --> 00:27:03,00 and one man dot org. You really. Are 366 00:27:03,38 --> 00:27:08,99 babies in the audience I'm Linda highly. Thanks for calling this story today. 367 00:27:13,58 --> 00:27:17,68 You may know all but the audience may not that over two thousand volunteers 368 00:27:17,69 --> 00:27:24,04 gathered one hundred seventy five thousand signatures in in four months in support 369 00:27:24,05 --> 00:27:24,13 of 370 00:27:24,14 --> 00:27:29,15 a constitutional amendment that would overturn corporate personhood not just Citizens 371 00:27:29,16 --> 00:27:34,34 United that would rule that money was not speech and would regulate money in 372 00:27:34,35 --> 00:27:39,77 politics and although we didn't get those three hundred thousand signatures 373 00:27:40,38 --> 00:27:43,08 although we get it I'm getting there although we didn't get the three hundred 374 00:27:43,09 --> 00:27:48,75 thousand Cigna. That we needed to get it on the ballot despair is not an option and 375 00:27:48,76 --> 00:27:54,91 I quote We are planning on regrouping My question is we are really counting on 376 00:27:54,92 --> 00:28:01,21 money and volunteers and your support in two thousand and fifteen as we work to get 377 00:28:01,70 --> 00:28:08,37 further ahead thank you sure. I don't know if I can if I am so what I want to do is 378 00:28:08,38 --> 00:28:11,73 just get get your A couple questions on the floor Can I just respond to this 379 00:28:11,74 --> 00:28:16,31 Ruprecht OK Number one when you ask a question it's good not to give 380 00:28:16,32 --> 00:28:19,42 a speech you can always call on my show and give a speech just ask 381 00:28:19,43 --> 00:28:24,46 a question and number two I would be glad to support your efforts thank you great 382 00:28:24,47 --> 00:28:28,89 hard on me OK thank you thank you Tom so I really do want to invite my see lots and 383 00:28:28,90 --> 00:28:32,80 lots of people queuing up and I really do only have time for the first six 384 00:28:32,81 --> 00:28:37,94 questions so so since Tom really gave the official definition we're going to we're 385 00:28:37,95 --> 00:28:42,30 going to do six more questions now but that's all we have time to do so if you 386 00:28:42,31 --> 00:28:47,32 would please ask your brief question and and then we'll move so we're going to go 387 00:28:47,33 --> 00:28:52,31 to your I'm going to come to thanks for being here Tom in terms of taking back our 388 00:28:52,32 --> 00:28:57,59 democracy I understand the Democrats won the popular vote in the house but the 389 00:28:57,60 --> 00:29:03,43 house doesn't reflect that because the gerrymandering and redistricting and issues 390 00:29:04,36 --> 00:29:11,19 the. Court case fill in on Florida as I understand and I think that really could 391 00:29:11,20 --> 00:29:17,77 be and Road to you know if we can get all these really cories the least drawn 392 00:29:18,18 --> 00:29:24,38 districts thrown out. Don't don't don't you see that as. 393 00:29:25,96 --> 00:29:32,04 I do it with I do I you know if if I was it could be done legislatively but it's 394 00:29:32,05 --> 00:29:33,01 most easily done as 395 00:29:33,02 --> 00:29:37,89 a constitutional or not most easily the most you know you're if you to believe that 396 00:29:37,93 --> 00:29:43,07 all congressional districts should be polygons California has done this they 397 00:29:43,08 --> 00:29:43,73 created in 398 00:29:43,74 --> 00:29:46,94 a. Partisan commission it's got three Democrats three Republicans and three 399 00:29:46,95 --> 00:29:51,76 independents and and all and they are drawing computer districts by computer and 400 00:29:51,77 --> 00:29:57,57 they all have to be polygons and the equal equal sides you know may not be 401 00:29:57,58 --> 00:30:02,36 a perfect square circle but equal sides moralize to the extent it's possible given 402 00:30:02,37 --> 00:30:07,27 geography and every state should do that since California has done that at state 403 00:30:07,28 --> 00:30:10,77 went from being totally dysfunctional to highly functional it's 404 00:30:10,78 --> 00:30:16,75 a really important issue thank you of that all right is so Tom I wanted to ask you 405 00:30:16,76 --> 00:30:22,58 about defending civil society with the corruption of want Foresman militarization 406 00:30:22,62 --> 00:30:25,75 of police specifically in Seattle we have 407 00:30:25,76 --> 00:30:31,12 a sheriff that's actually breaking laws and throwing people out of their homes and 408 00:30:31,53 --> 00:30:36,22 this militarization were on the cutting edge with the drones in Seattle and all 409 00:30:36,23 --> 00:30:43,12 this how do we do go about defending civil society with this much 410 00:30:43,51 --> 00:30:47,55 of an oppressive violent apparatus I mean in 411 00:30:47,56 --> 00:30:53,39 a nonviolent. Civil. In two thousand and nine. 412 00:30:54,55 --> 00:30:55,03 But there was 413 00:30:55,04 --> 00:30:58,61 a group that was funded by one of the right wing foundations I believe it was 414 00:30:58,62 --> 00:31:03,76 called the conquered coalition that produced D.V.D.'s that they distributed to 415 00:31:03,77 --> 00:31:09,20 thousands of homes all across America about how if you showed up at 416 00:31:09,24 --> 00:31:11,22 a Republican Party meeting with 417 00:31:11,23 --> 00:31:16,87 a couple of friends odds are you could take over that local Republican Party and 418 00:31:16,91 --> 00:31:17,92 become a pretty what's called 419 00:31:17,93 --> 00:31:22,71 a precinct committee person and ideally the precinct committee chair the precinct 420 00:31:22,72 --> 00:31:27,27 committee people determine who's going to be on the primary ballot there it's 421 00:31:27,28 --> 00:31:33,37 arguably the most poll powerful political position in the United States and in my 422 00:31:33,38 --> 00:31:37,48 book sprue the last chapter the book is about three people who did just that one of 423 00:31:37,49 --> 00:31:42,52 them took over the political system and in in Portland Oregon one of them took over 424 00:31:42,53 --> 00:31:47,72 the political system and Denver and one of them did it in Albuquerque and they all 425 00:31:47,73 --> 00:31:50,14 they did was show up it's 426 00:31:50,15 --> 00:31:54,10 a stone and this is the answer to that earlier question too about you know what do 427 00:31:54,11 --> 00:31:58,95 we do about the it's amazing I talk about this on the radio and people somebody 428 00:31:58,96 --> 00:32:01,55 called in last Wednesday or Tuesday maybe you heard it there was 429 00:32:01,56 --> 00:32:05,64 a guy who called and said I went to the to the local Democratic party meaning the 430 00:32:05,65 --> 00:32:11,17 average age was ninety and and you know I showed up with four friends they held an 431 00:32:11,18 --> 00:32:15,15 election I got myself elected and I'm now the guy representing the Democratic Party 432 00:32:15,16 --> 00:32:19,99 from you know West Palm Beach Florida where ever it was and it's not bad har it's 433 00:32:20,00 --> 00:32:22,53 just not that hard I mean there are some places where it could be 434 00:32:22,54 --> 00:32:26,42 a challenge like downtown Chicago and stuff I mean there's some really well fine 435 00:32:26,43 --> 00:32:30,59 tune to machines but by and large all across the country it's not that hard to take 436 00:32:30,60 --> 00:32:33,44 over the political machine and the Democratic Party is 437 00:32:33,45 --> 00:32:38,77 a multibillion dollar nonprofit enterprise and the doors are open waiting for you 438 00:32:38,78 --> 00:32:42,61 to take it over you can't say that of N.B.C. A.B.C. C.B.S. 439 00:32:42,62 --> 00:32:48,59 Or anybody else and so why not don't just get politically active get politically 440 00:32:48,60 --> 00:32:54,15 subversive THAT'S MY they are law and. 441 00:32:54,18 --> 00:33:00,56 Three of the right on the right are coalition told people how to do that they were 442 00:33:00,57 --> 00:33:04,08 telling people how to do that on behalf of an OR brand new organization that has 443 00:33:04,09 --> 00:33:08,28 been started called the Tea Party and and look at how many people they got elected 444 00:33:08,29 --> 00:33:09,38 in two thousand and ten as 445 00:33:09,39 --> 00:33:14,95 a result of that OK you heard it here folks time to get active and subversive one 446 00:33:14,96 --> 00:33:18,70 of the best shows that I heard of yours recently you were talking with 447 00:33:18,71 --> 00:33:24,74 a woman who was running as an independent in California about finding agreement on 448 00:33:24,75 --> 00:33:29,56 principle before talking about issues when dealing with the opposition said 449 00:33:29,57 --> 00:33:34,09 Marianne Williamson Yes Yeah and and I thought that was very enlightened because 450 00:33:34,13 --> 00:33:39,36 the opposition is so often as you indicated our family our neighbors our friends 451 00:33:39,76 --> 00:33:44,29 and if we're going to change people's minds I thought this idea of finding 452 00:33:44,30 --> 00:33:49,81 consensus on principle and then talking about issues was very light and and if you 453 00:33:49,82 --> 00:33:53,30 could share some of that conversation with the audience I think sure appreciate it 454 00:33:53,71 --> 00:33:58,29 Ralph Nader was on my show. A short while ago he's got 455 00:33:58,30 --> 00:34:02,32 a new book out it's called unstoppable and in his book he's got twenty nine 456 00:34:02,33 --> 00:34:05,02 chapters in each chapter is a topic 457 00:34:05,12 --> 00:34:10,96 a subject on which there is absolute agreement between progresses and libertarians 458 00:34:11,19 --> 00:34:15,93 between genuine conservatives and genuine liberals these are you know there we can 459 00:34:15,94 --> 00:34:18,90 all we all know the five topics on which everybody is having 460 00:34:18,91 --> 00:34:23,65 a pissing war but he disagrees but there's twenty nine major topics where people 461 00:34:23,69 --> 00:34:29,16 agree you know money in politics being one of them. Is all bunched up and he said 462 00:34:29,17 --> 00:34:33,13 if if anybody if any politician or any political party or any group was to simply 463 00:34:33,14 --> 00:34:37,16 say this is our agenda and we're not going to debate abortion and we're not going 464 00:34:37,17 --> 00:34:37,41 to be 465 00:34:37,42 --> 00:34:43,31 a debate guns and we're not going to debate you know voter ID We're going to debate 466 00:34:43,32 --> 00:34:47,37 these things you know should we have job should we strengthen Social Security there 467 00:34:47,38 --> 00:34:52,53 was just there was this list and he said they would never be able to lose and I 468 00:34:52,54 --> 00:34:57,95 believe that that's that's the case. That and Marianne was talking to that she was 469 00:34:57,96 --> 00:34:59,88 running a nonpartisan campaign that was 470 00:34:59,89 --> 00:35:06,86 a very much about those kind of issues. Had to be says sink I'd just like 471 00:35:06,87 --> 00:35:13,75 to ask. What your opinions are of likely the current global crisis 472 00:35:13,76 --> 00:35:18,78 which we all glad to hear that you're aware of but also the likely conjunction of 473 00:35:18,79 --> 00:35:24,01 not only global warming but also very soon the social economic realisation in 474 00:35:24,02 --> 00:35:30,85 society of people oil which will affect us not so much as far as global warming but 475 00:35:30,86 --> 00:35:36,00 as far as associate nomic level so was one day no airplanes will be flying in the 476 00:35:36,01 --> 00:35:40,46 water while that may not happen over night when it does happen ever becomes realize 477 00:35:40,47 --> 00:35:43,42 it that's going to happen around the same time the global warming is actually 478 00:35:43,43 --> 00:35:44,82 making impact if we do not make 479 00:35:44,83 --> 00:35:50,13 a change so what are your opinions on both those items happened together. I wrote 480 00:35:50,14 --> 00:35:53,45 a book about peak oil called the last hours of ancient sunlight back in one 481 00:35:53,46 --> 00:35:59,55 thousand ninety six and we updated it in two thousand and four. One of the things 482 00:35:59,56 --> 00:36:01,67 most people don't realize about fracking is that it's 483 00:36:01,68 --> 00:36:07,97 a Ponzi scheme. It is you know they they they created incredible externalities they 484 00:36:07,98 --> 00:36:10,31 put all kinds of poison into the water and 485 00:36:10,32 --> 00:36:15,13 a Frakt well has an average lifetime of six years you know everybody things all 486 00:36:15,14 --> 00:36:19,97 look at all this oil would always gas you got six years. Do we got some serious 487 00:36:19,98 --> 00:36:21,19 problems fossil fuels are 488 00:36:21,20 --> 00:36:25,52 a serious problem that's the bad news the good news is that they're now making 489 00:36:25,53 --> 00:36:30,32 roofing tiles as solar panels they're making I mean you know it's so easy to 490 00:36:30,33 --> 00:36:34,26 convert your home or business now the solar or wind twenty two percent of the 491 00:36:34,27 --> 00:36:39,55 electricity in the state of Texas is generated just wind and solar statistic you're 492 00:36:39,56 --> 00:36:44,12 not going to hear from Rick Perry twenty percent in Iowa it's happening all over 493 00:36:44,13 --> 00:36:51,09 the world so yeah you're right and I see that as just one more thing that's pushing 494 00:36:51,10 --> 00:36:55,09 for the transition. Thank you I'd appreciate hearing 495 00:36:55,10 --> 00:36:58,19 a few thoughts from you about Elizabeth Warren and whether you think she had the 496 00:36:58,20 --> 00:37:05,17 chance to become president or the police 497 00:37:05,18 --> 00:37:10,59 and the. If if Elizabeth Warren ran for president I would do everything I can to 498 00:37:10,60 --> 00:37:16,31 get elected and I would for 499 00:37:16,32 --> 00:37:20,55 that's. A couple of 500 00:37:20,59 --> 00:37:24,68 a couple of friends of mine who are pretty astute political observers were at two 501 00:37:24,69 --> 00:37:30,18 of the events that she did recently and she was not collecting email addresses now 502 00:37:30,22 --> 00:37:34,37 the first imperative when you're running for president is get your e-mail list 503 00:37:34,38 --> 00:37:41,33 together she was not doing it. That says to me. In capital 504 00:37:41,34 --> 00:37:45,20 letters that she's not running for president she might be running for vice 505 00:37:45,21 --> 00:37:49,97 president but even that is unlikely because when you're running for vice president 506 00:37:49,98 --> 00:37:54,04 at the pretend to run for president I think I think she's doing 507 00:37:54,05 --> 00:37:57,73 a marvelous job of pushing the party to the left I think she's doing 508 00:37:57,74 --> 00:38:02,83 a marvelous job of being the the the little boy who told the truth what was the 509 00:38:02,87 --> 00:38:09,24 emperor has no clothes she's. You know God bless or we need Elizabeth Warren and 510 00:38:09,25 --> 00:38:10,51 hopefully she will inspire 511 00:38:10,52 --> 00:38:16,58 a dozen more in the Senate over the next five or six years and and if she stays 512 00:38:16,67 --> 00:38:17,46 she's she's 513 00:38:17,47 --> 00:38:21,90 a young woman relatively speaking and if she stays you know in terms of politics if 514 00:38:21,91 --> 00:38:27,32 she stays in the Senate for another four years in two thousand and sixteen or not 515 00:38:27,33 --> 00:38:30,29 twenty sixteen twenty twenty as specially if 516 00:38:30,30 --> 00:38:34,70 a Republican wins in two thousand and sixteen which is horror horrifyingly possible 517 00:38:34,70 --> 00:38:39,89 . And if they do you will definitely see the Great Depression which will set up 518 00:38:39,90 --> 00:38:42,02 a Democratic president in two thousand and twenty and if that's 519 00:38:42,03 --> 00:38:46,56 a list with Warren It would not surprise me at all we'll see we'll see I'm just you 520 00:38:46,57 --> 00:38:48,32 know I'm totally there for her I've got 521 00:38:48,33 --> 00:38:52,47 a bumper sticker behind me on the wall says Sanders Warren to you know twenty six 522 00:38:52,48 --> 00:38:59,03 to three the of the. 523 00:39:00,17 --> 00:39:06,06 Final question. Hi I want to address the issue of global warming and you had 524 00:39:06,07 --> 00:39:10,70 mentioned that China is instituting some cap and trade and it's 525 00:39:10,74 --> 00:39:16,89 a believe some places in the United States however what do you feel about the 526 00:39:16,90 --> 00:39:23,35 carbon tax that seems to have gaining support and given the urgency of doing 527 00:39:23,36 --> 00:39:28,47 something about this carbon dioxide pollution This is the most recent video we 528 00:39:28,48 --> 00:39:29,33 released a week and 529 00:39:29,34 --> 00:39:34,58 a half ago the late hour to Caprio and I narrated and it's called green world 530 00:39:34,59 --> 00:39:36,79 rising it's a green world rising dot org It's 531 00:39:36,80 --> 00:39:39,45 a little ten minute short and it's on how to do 532 00:39:39,46 --> 00:39:45,35 a carbon tax and carbon tax is infinitely more desirable that cap and trade cap and 533 00:39:45,36 --> 00:39:52,04 trade. Or cap and trade does work George Herbert Walker Bush when he was 534 00:39:52,05 --> 00:39:56,15 president was confronted with the problem that acid rain it gotten so bad it was 535 00:39:56,16 --> 00:40:00,25 not only eating people's cars it was destroying the monuments and statues all over 536 00:40:00,26 --> 00:40:03,48 the world as the United States and he put into place 537 00:40:03,49 --> 00:40:07,33 a kind of capital aid program and software dioxide. In ten years reduce the 538 00:40:07,34 --> 00:40:12,24 software dioxide levels by bore the ninety percent it actually can work when 539 00:40:12,25 --> 00:40:12,41 there's 540 00:40:12,42 --> 00:40:17,58 a consensus and people do it right the European Kappa trade system around curbing 541 00:40:17,59 --> 00:40:23,03 is not working because the banks gamed it they they just you know it got scammed 542 00:40:23,81 --> 00:40:28,83 China doesn't have to respond to political pressure from billionaires all of our 543 00:40:29,05 --> 00:40:31,65 oil companies you know one of the benefits of being 544 00:40:31,66 --> 00:40:36,25 a fascist communist state or whatever you want to call it. So there is may well 545 00:40:36,26 --> 00:40:42,39 work we'll see but the best kind of carbon tax is one where you define the cost of 546 00:40:42,40 --> 00:40:47,35 the carbon you have it escalate over time I mean if you want to just six capture 547 00:40:47,36 --> 00:40:53,19 the extra analogies of oil right the cost to run the fifth fleet to protect our oil 548 00:40:53,20 --> 00:40:57,87 shipping lanes the cost of the cancers the ten to sixty thousand cancers in the 549 00:40:57,88 --> 00:41:03,20 United States caused by by burning fossil fuels the hundreds of thousands of as 550 00:41:03,21 --> 00:41:07,13 most all those medical costs if you were to capture you know the destruction of 551 00:41:07,14 --> 00:41:11,85 environment the the despoiling of our waters in areas that you know on and on and 552 00:41:11,86 --> 00:41:16,84 on if you were to just capture those costs carbon would cost about one hundred 553 00:41:16,85 --> 00:41:22,71 dollars a ton in addition to what a cost right now emitted and we're talking about 554 00:41:22,72 --> 00:41:25,43 a starting out with a carbon tax of fifteen or twenty dollars 555 00:41:25,44 --> 00:41:29,65 a ton and every year raising it maybe five dollars and then take one hundred 556 00:41:29,66 --> 00:41:33,70 percent of that money and give it back to consumers because the problem that 557 00:41:33,71 --> 00:41:37,79 consumers have is that OK my price of gas just went up twenty cents 558 00:41:37,80 --> 00:41:40,99 a gallon and I've got to drive three hours to get to work what do I do it while you 559 00:41:41,00 --> 00:41:41,16 get 560 00:41:41,17 --> 00:41:46,42 a check check fits actually more than the cost of gas going out because not you know 561 00:41:46,43 --> 00:41:49,94 all the people get the checks the businesses get the checks but the businesses are 562 00:41:49,95 --> 00:41:54,46 also paying the carbon tax in fact they're paying the majority of it and so the net 563 00:41:54,47 --> 00:41:59,16 net of this is that it would stimulate the economy would help consumers it would 564 00:41:59,31 --> 00:42:02,10 put a price on carbon to the point where it's stupid to build 565 00:42:02,11 --> 00:42:06,96 a new power plant out of carbon when you can do it was solar wind and you know it's 566 00:42:06,97 --> 00:42:07,80 just it's 567 00:42:07,81 --> 00:42:13,05 a total win situation it really really works and people say well we could never do 568 00:42:13,06 --> 00:42:18,65 that in America and I would say Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin when she was governor of 569 00:42:18,66 --> 00:42:19,94 Alaska every year wrote 570 00:42:19,95 --> 00:42:23,79 a check for between two and three thousand dollars for every man woman and child in 571 00:42:23,80 --> 00:42:28,23 the state of Alaska the Alaska Permanent Fund which is a tax on carbon it had 572 00:42:28,24 --> 00:42:32,93 a tax on carbon since the seventy's in fact she jury rigged that thing so badly the 573 00:42:32,94 --> 00:42:36,21 year that she was running for vice president that her family was seven people and 574 00:42:36,22 --> 00:42:39,62 it got forty one thousand dollars back you know is a guaranteed it's 575 00:42:39,63 --> 00:42:44,16 a guaranteed minimum income and so in fact a tax on carbon could become 576 00:42:44,17 --> 00:42:47,89 a guaranteed minimum income which would saw you know you could do away with half 577 00:42:47,90 --> 00:42:49,83 the welfare programs in the United States and 578 00:42:49,84 --> 00:42:52,96 a lot of the economic anxiety in this country if you had a minimum well for 579 00:42:53,18 --> 00:42:55,43 a minimum income so yes. 580 00:43:01,05 --> 00:43:01,62 Yes we're 581 00:43:01,63 --> 00:43:06,46 a bit more thought this he is the director of the how do you think those who 582 00:43:06,47 --> 00:43:10,20 thought their character was is they house I don't know you are going to have 583 00:43:10,21 --> 00:43:11,92 a good rally in March when you throw me 584 00:43:11,93 --> 00:43:18,42 a broken to get here. If you don't really you know why you can't be how can you be 585 00:43:18,46 --> 00:43:23,30 the Ground Zero always. Ready to do. 586 00:43:28,28 --> 00:43:29,91 That soon represent 587 00:43:30,03 --> 00:43:36,99 a group date in the fight against climate. Any quality and yet. We 588 00:43:37,73 --> 00:43:44,26 are united to day because we were you know much the mega-corporation we grew out of 589 00:43:44,99 --> 00:43:50,59 coral and the people who have the destruction of our barmaids to determine our 590 00:43:50,63 --> 00:43:57,30 future. Or thought OK we're already talking people 591 00:43:57,31 --> 00:44:02,41 jobs and produce to our environment. We're not having 592 00:44:02,56 --> 00:44:05,53 a future we do not have to be 593 00:44:05,93 --> 00:44:12,66 a report about May be that's why we have. The left in the wake of the 594 00:44:12,67 --> 00:44:19,62 cap crisis. World Record World. Forcing million people out 595 00:44:19,63 --> 00:44:25,88 of their jobs. Their homes were trying to process 596 00:44:26,61 --> 00:44:29,46 their pricing anything. 597 00:44:33,34 --> 00:44:39,92 Really the alarm bells. Flashing harming our environment but work off. 598 00:44:40,96 --> 00:44:45,85 Their building billion dollar call for terminals and directing poetry. 599 00:44:47,94 --> 00:44:52,88 And they have the audacity to call us well we created jobs don't. 600 00:44:55,13 --> 00:45:01,36 Give up annoying billion dollar tax man doubts. Were left to bargain 601 00:45:01,36 --> 00:45:08,06 regulations or we may not read the jobs for you. Well we're. 602 00:45:09,47 --> 00:45:16,22 Waiting for environmental and social justice organization to totally reject that 603 00:45:16,24 --> 00:45:19,54 world. But 604 00:45:20,41 --> 00:45:27,35 thank you thank 605 00:45:27,37 --> 00:45:33,71 you we want to be green technology has not only started dressing damage 606 00:45:33,71 --> 00:45:40,39 a global warming will also create millions of jobs expanding trade routes opening 607 00:45:40,41 --> 00:45:45,60 your home falling really growing and building of your lecture grid. 608 00:45:47,43 --> 00:45:53,90 To serve how are we going to get it done. I think it's clear we cannot rely on the 609 00:45:53,92 --> 00:45:59,32 global. Great world that they. Will 610 00:46:00,75 --> 00:46:07,74 have to please all of. We need to get organized just like we were the 611 00:46:07,75 --> 00:46:13,61 five perfect thing we need to engage in direct action just like the past could 612 00:46:13,62 --> 00:46:20,41 strike. The magic if we have the little girl walking the 613 00:46:20,42 --> 00:46:23,42 train tracks. Any little. 614 00:46:26,36 --> 00:46:33,62 Thank 615 00:46:33,63 --> 00:46:39,38 you thank you I was wrong because we got the movement but this is what I think 616 00:46:39,47 --> 00:46:42,97 about a big theory of what the ninety three thousand people who wrote 617 00:46:42,98 --> 00:46:46,65 a portion of the one. She wrote about it up it's 618 00:46:46,66 --> 00:46:53,29 a party no money working ration are both men but are are people in 619 00:46:53,34 --> 00:47:00,07 power thank you thank you Will President 620 00:47:00,08 --> 00:47:06,97 Obama know you people are. Going to change and work with me get on with 621 00:47:06,98 --> 00:47:13,31 work but what if we get. There really are there limits for Wall Street 622 00:47:14,16 --> 00:47:16,56 you will open as long as you buy to find 623 00:47:16,57 --> 00:47:21,81 a tree again and again and the largest expansion a problem that 624 00:47:21,82 --> 00:47:28,55 a generation where only we can was either party the Republican Party. 625 00:47:30,53 --> 00:47:36,97 The only girl who I know thank you 626 00:47:36,98 --> 00:47:42,64 thank you I want to thank you all you got big business we. 627 00:47:43,98 --> 00:47:45,62 Ended up at the party. 628 00:47:49,37 --> 00:47:56,03 Thank goodness knows I was moved by the story. Well there were 629 00:47:56,04 --> 00:48:02,16 any We wrote to me feel like you was close to God and I wanted you. 630 00:48:03,37 --> 00:48:09,67 Thank God what was right again big girl and all of 631 00:48:09,68 --> 00:48:16,45 a corporation working with me. They were all is not going to quit. Every 632 00:48:16,46 --> 00:48:23,03 drop they have he wrote me. What I think using it for your giving it 633 00:48:23,26 --> 00:48:26,87 well. You're giving it 634 00:48:26,88 --> 00:48:31,74 a crack open the door to get the notes of yeah you're giving up the people who are 635 00:48:31,75 --> 00:48:38,69 waiting for ever or why we're your body right right. I 636 00:48:38,70 --> 00:48:44,15 want to. Go through her we should get out of the way OK. 637 00:48:46,20 --> 00:48:53,14 Exxon Mobil. Shell and the rest of them he Corporation right now are 638 00:48:53,23 --> 00:49:00,07 you. We should be taking all of the University. Ownership 639 00:49:00,93 --> 00:49:06,99 Thank you. Thank you. 640 00:49:08,42 --> 00:49:08,66 For 641 00:49:08,67 --> 00:49:15,59 a democratically whether our society you know we have gone. Or green energy 642 00:49:15,60 --> 00:49:22,42 jobs. What they were 643 00:49:22,43 --> 00:49:29,43 Are you sure what you were thinking were worth it and just. Like well 644 00:49:29,44 --> 00:49:31,77 this is the Harley we're going to buy 645 00:49:31,78 --> 00:49:38,03 a human being and not right or wrong we'll be acquiring more good people we are not 646 00:49:38,04 --> 00:49:44,93 the billionaire Paul Gary thank you thank you so much 647 00:49:44,97 --> 00:49:50,36 our next maker of Bob isn't like Mr Gaffney the last marker on all your value it 648 00:49:50,37 --> 00:49:52,12 wasn't that was not 649 00:49:52,13 --> 00:49:58,67 a rugby ball but it was. A loop 650 00:49:58,68 --> 00:50:02,71 literally right here. As 651 00:50:02,72 --> 00:50:07,31 a Green Party candidate for not one but two offices you have one and you know it 652 00:50:07,94 --> 00:50:09,95 and I'm here to share with you 653 00:50:09,96 --> 00:50:16,93 a little recent history in our town of building him to the north as it relates to 654 00:50:17,07 --> 00:50:23,58 all of this it relates to war basic rights. In two thousand and twelve 655 00:50:24,44 --> 00:50:30,98 encouraged by city is on the East Coast the past community builds up rights 656 00:50:31,53 --> 00:50:37,72 a group of Bellingham residents rafted and circulated an initiative to establish 657 00:50:37,97 --> 00:50:43,21 a bill of rights rebelling you know among other things it would have recognized our 658 00:50:43,22 --> 00:50:49,83 right you believe there and we need water and quite specifically it wouldn't part 659 00:50:49,84 --> 00:50:54,80 with the transportation of hold within the city limits of Belize. 660 00:50:57,75 --> 00:51:02,66 Give me your cruise line fight over ten thousand people which is twice the amount 661 00:51:02,67 --> 00:51:08,47 that was required holding showed that eighty percent of the people in the city 662 00:51:09,08 --> 00:51:15,84 supported it and our city council went to court to keep it from 663 00:51:15,85 --> 00:51:21,66 being on the ballot. It said it 664 00:51:22,07 --> 00:51:28,29 lawsuits and its duty was to the city coffers rather to the 665 00:51:28,79 --> 00:51:35,56 into the citizens. It still did not have the power to fight it Reidy corporations 666 00:51:35,94 --> 00:51:42,85 for whom the system is getting bored bore me each day after we deprived 667 00:51:42,86 --> 00:51:48,34 of that addition to I want to occupy Wall Street in occupied D.C. 668 00:51:48,35 --> 00:51:55,18 And when I return the occupied building him was in full swing not the one copy 669 00:51:55,19 --> 00:52:00,07 needed mainly by people who were stoned by the city's action and rejected in the 670 00:52:00,08 --> 00:52:06,33 initial. I know right people who work inside and outside the system 671 00:52:07,10 --> 00:52:13,49 in December of two thousand and twelve I said that if the city would not stop whole 672 00:52:13,50 --> 00:52:18,92 grains they have I put stock in at least one was. 673 00:52:20,70 --> 00:52:26,81 Having would even have another local acres of occupied I was arrested and jailed 674 00:52:26,82 --> 00:52:33,09 overnight for laying down on the railroad track and blocky that old Marine that 675 00:52:33,10 --> 00:52:40,07 was back in her car was the girl pretty tough to set up will not 676 00:52:40,13 --> 00:52:47,04 be allowed. I want to see the counselor because when I haven't 677 00:52:47,05 --> 00:52:52,49 lost an hour of running for public utility district this happens to be the group 678 00:52:52,50 --> 00:52:58,07 that supplies water treatment carry point called thermo I want to stock up. 679 00:52:59,27 --> 00:53:06,00 Was. The old pal of the like yours why but change is 680 00:53:06,01 --> 00:53:12,32 one we must win. All here the alternative is mass 681 00:53:12,33 --> 00:53:18,68 extinction it won't be not one by a group or groups but 682 00:53:18,69 --> 00:53:24,21 a lot of groups working together we need coalition building that's why I like this 683 00:53:24,22 --> 00:53:30,20 today this is the start of coalition building my hope is that we simply in the 684 00:53:30,21 --> 00:53:37,03 future will not listen to speeches and. More but that we will take direct action 685 00:53:37,50 --> 00:53:43,85 we. Need to recognize the corporations will never yield power 686 00:53:43,86 --> 00:53:50,28 graciously our form of capitalism is inconsistent with the 687 00:53:50,29 --> 00:53:56,49 survival of our species. We need to take this system down 688 00:53:57,15 --> 00:54:03,86 was. Are nice speakers when you see crust she 689 00:54:03,87 --> 00:54:09,06 is the former president of the inability of the National Association for the 690 00:54:09,07 --> 00:54:15,26 advancement of the only people who is really welcoming. Thank 691 00:54:15,27 --> 00:54:22,11 you thank you I was never actually drawing this graphic I 692 00:54:22,12 --> 00:54:27,32 want to make certain that this Washington after all is able to share what are New 693 00:54:27,33 --> 00:54:34,14 York Big Apple. No more climate change the art. 694 00:54:35,18 --> 00:54:41,23 You see here for the in the Holy See we understand the urgency of right now 695 00:54:42,28 --> 00:54:48,79 we understand the connection between toxic race waste and Grace 696 00:54:49,65 --> 00:54:53,37 I. Think. I'm 697 00:54:53,38 --> 00:55:00,27 a black woman and out here there's far too many blacks who are I'm able to 698 00:55:00,28 --> 00:55:07,03 move into areas that are clear from pollution. Right here in Washington State were 699 00:55:07,04 --> 00:55:13,16 guilty were guilty for polluting our errors in Centralia we have one of the big 700 00:55:13,17 --> 00:55:17,98 with corporate factory players it's not going to shut down they're still coming to 701 00:55:17,99 --> 00:55:23,78 me that means years kill me almost me walk walk walk walk or to run 702 00:55:23,79 --> 00:55:30,63 a balance worse back inside of pollution worse that being able to you 703 00:55:30,83 --> 00:55:35,46 look at our babies like talk Mark in the morning because we are so happy and we 704 00:55:35,47 --> 00:55:39,64 can't take our eyes off with their faces we have to put our Maker is 705 00:55:39,65 --> 00:55:45,00 a minor part these days because the break certain that they're still breathing. You 706 00:55:45,01 --> 00:55:48,80 see when you're talking about air pollution when you're talking about the climate 707 00:55:48,81 --> 00:55:52,89 change this is a matter of right wing that not all of us have 708 00:55:52,90 --> 00:55:57,70 a roar to move out of that nuclear that radius of thirty miles. 709 00:55:59,34 --> 00:56:06,22 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BE CLEAR from against 710 00:56:06,23 --> 00:56:08,87 me they are injustice. 711 00:56:10,99 --> 00:56:17,33 Thank you want to make certain I'll come back to the earth now for those who are 712 00:56:17,34 --> 00:56:21,34 still yet to come but for those who are living right here. 713 00:56:24,15 --> 00:56:30,65 Thank you we want to make certain we wrote the poem over progress. We kill all of 714 00:56:30,66 --> 00:56:31,14 our pluck 715 00:56:31,15 --> 00:56:39,80 a. Part OK. No 716 00:56:39,81 --> 00:56:46,16 dollar and just then we want to make certain that when the temperatures go up as 717 00:56:46,17 --> 00:56:53,08 the global warming that our grandparents are able to provide so many African 718 00:56:53,09 --> 00:56:59,76 Americans one bit more stark in my areas we need stroke because we 719 00:56:59,77 --> 00:57:06,77 can't afford to move to the areas where less will loosen and that we're lazy we say 720 00:57:06,82 --> 00:57:13,40 no more there is the air of injustice we want to make certain we stuck like we're 721 00:57:13,41 --> 00:57:14,92 losing Thank you.